A Shade of Whimsy

Welcome

Welcome to my page!This is a passionate blog for turning something old into something new again.For resurrecting dead furniture into beautiful new furniture.For handmade treasures and creative ideas.For deliciously scrumptious recipes and healthy eats.Follow me and explore the use of color, textures, and everyday items to pull together a room without spending a fortune.

About Me

Kendra Hardesty

Hi! My name is Kendra. I am a mother of 3 wonderful children and married to a wonderful man. I love God and with all of my heart. If you want to know more about me and what I do, click on the About Me Page to the left.

August 23, 2011

Well, by light I mean it tastes light instead of having it feel heavy in your tummy.

Ingredients:

Premade pizza crust - I used Freschetta Artisan Thin Crust

Can of diced tomatoes (with or without basil and oregano)

Garlic Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

Pepper

Oregano

Italian seasoning

Parmesan Cheese

Fresh mozzarella - 6 or 7 thin slices

fresh basil

Little grape tomatoes or Roma...whichever you prefer

Black olives

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar - 2-3 Table Spoons

Take the grape tomatoes and slice in half length-wise, open the can of diced black olives and drain the liquid. Set these aside. Next, take your crust out and place on an upside down cookie sheet. Preheat oven to the temperature marked on the back of your crust. Also, make sure the sheet is big enough for the pizza :)

Lightly drizzle some olive oil on the crust and spread using a basting brush making sure to cover well. Place in the oven and let it turn a nice light golden brown. This keeps the crust from becoming soggy from the sauce.

While the pizza is getting nice and golden brown...take your blender and add the can of DRAINED diced tomatoes, the balsamic vinegar, oregano, and italian seasoning and about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Blend until your desired consistency. Remove the crust from the oven and ladle the sauce up close to the edges of the crust. Lay the fresh mozzarella, sliced grape tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, and diced black olives all over the pizza. Sprinkle lightly with garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes (optional), and pepper. Then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and place in the oven until the cheese has become melt y and bubbly and the tomatoes have a nice roasted look.

August 17, 2011

Time Magazine has published their list of "The 50 Best Websites of 2011" today. I was super pumped to see that they had two of my favorite websites on their list, as well as some new ones I've never heard of. I thought maybe for my first post back since June that this would be a good way to start.

First I have to say, seeing Polyvore.com and Pinterest.com on there was awesome. I am seriously addicted to those sites... horribly, irrevocably, and undeniably addicted. Much like I am with coffee. It's ugly people, just ask my husband. Running gag in our house is when I run out of coffee I stomp around in my best "Hulk Angry, Hulk Smash" attitude until I get some in me. Anyways, that's a whole other story! You can click on the link up at the top of my post to see the list in its entirety. I just wanted to highlight some of the ones that peeked my interest. Hmmm....is that where they came up with Pinterest? Sorry, random thoughts often pop into my addled brain.

1. Hipmunk - SUPER fabulous site to ease the burden of slogging through endless pages of flight and hotel searches. I know there is Expedia, Hotels.com, Cheaptickets, etc. but, this one is really smart. You type in your destination and dates...it pops up with a easy to read "visual timeline" with every major airline on the internet. You can see the prices and times offered. Try it out. I did and I loved it.

2. 8tracks - Here's a direct quote from their About page - "8tracks is handcrafted internet radio. It offers a simple way for people to share and discover music through an online mix, a short playlist containing at least 8 tracks....8tracks believes handcrafted music programming trumps algorithms. Think radio in the 1970s, mixtapes in the 1980s, and DJ culture of the 1990s through today. DJ's share their talent in taste making, providing exposure for artists. Listeners get a unique blend of word-of-mouth sharing and radio programming — long the trusted means for music discovery — on a global scale." Sounds pretty awesome!!

3. Howcast - Want to know how to do it?....look it up on Howcast. This rapidly growing video channel shows you everything from "How to Flirt Online" & "How to Prevent Skin Spots". Some are funny and cheesy, and some are extremely informative. Just be prepared to spend a couple of hours there.

4. Wonderopolis - GREAT site for children...and adults. Want to know how to do an ollie? How about "Why Doesn't the Glue Stick to the Inside of the Bottle?" This site is like the proverbial 4/5 year old with their endless questions of Why and How. I swear this site has all of them but the great thing is...they have the answers. So if your child asks you "How Does an Eraser Work", put them on this site. You'll enjoy finding out too.

So there is just a few of the ones that I found fascinating and informative. You should give it a read and check some of the sites out. You might happen upon some amazing new site you never would have otherwise. Happy Reading and God Bless!!!

May 23, 2011

Hey everyone. I am going to be unable to post anything for a few days due to the fact that the city I am living in was hit by a tornado. My family and home are ok. unfortunately my really good friends lost their home along with a lot of other people. Pkease keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.